


In the End

by Summer_Story



Category: The Black Tapes Podcast
Genre: F/M, Happy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 10:42:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13680072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Summer_Story/pseuds/Summer_Story
Summary: They chose. And maybe, just maybe, it was the right decision in the end.





	In the End

**Author's Note:**

> Season three's ending killed my soul and then revived me. I've probably listened to it more than I really should, but I love it too much.
> 
> I finished this up before I clocked into work, so I'm sure there are errors. I'll fix them up once I have a laptop in front of me. Probably fix any format issues too.
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading this!

This is how their world ends. 

Strand and Alex take her tickets instead. 

They fly away, to another city, another country entirely where neither know the language. Though Strand reads up on it enough that he can hold a basic conversation by the time they land. 

Alex isn't sure what Strand brought in his carry-on and suitcase. She brought half of her savings and checking account, some spare books, and clothes to last her a week. 

They talk, before they leave the airport in Washington, and throw their phones in the trash. They left their laptop at Strand’s house, telling Nic and Ruby not to worry. That they're safe. 

Their first night in a hotel is filled with room service, red wine and sex. It feels life shattering. It feels life confirming. Rough from the adrenaline that carried them here, softening as the wine takes over their system. Richard is courteous. Thoughtful. Asking if she is comfortable, if she wishes to continue. She knows he's just as lost as her, but she wants this. Wants him. She silences him with a twist of her hips and rides, sighing her pleasure toward the sky. 

The next day, they clean up and pack their bags. Their afterglow was spent talking of where they'd like to live, what they'd like to do. 

The trip toward the countryside is quiet. Alex feels like she has slept for the first time in years. Strand looks the same. She squeezes his fingers gently, where they're twined between them. He gives a shy smile and Alex understands why Coralee fell for this man, and then she doesn't understand why she left him. Even if it was to protect him. She dozes off against his shoulder. 

It takes them a few months, to find a place to call home. A few more months, and money, to repair and update its pipes and roof. Then its home. Strand finds, much to Alex’s amusement, a position at the local school, teaching. She isn’t sure what he originally interviewed for, but now he teaches English to the students in the area. Occasionally, when she’s tired at looking at help wantes ads, she brings him lunch at school. The students seem to like her, so carefree compared to their particular teacher. It takes weeks before she realizes they all refer to her as Mrs. Strand.

It surprises her that she’s not that bothered, and Strand has never corrected them.

She finds a position as a secretary for a doctor’s office. It’s mindless work compared to before, but the doctor who runs the little clinic is disorganized; it takes her time to get everything in order and functioning. The man is generous for her time, and Alex doesn’t mind.

Every once and a while, a townsfolk will grow bitter about them being there. They’re technically outsiders, and even though they don’t cause any trouble (except still being unmarried, and Alex will smile to herself when the older ladies at the grocery store start gossiping as she turns a corner), they did arrive out of nowhere, with nothing but their bags and suitcases in hand.

It's been months since they disappeared.

Occasionally, Alex will visit a computer cafe, pay in cash for her time, and crack into her old journalism skills. She checks what’s going on with the world. She digs, but nothing that would alert anyone where they are. She reads about the mysterious disappearance of Doctor Richard Strand. The speculation and guesses. The people who worked in his field who, when Alex started the journey, had spoke of him with disregard and contempt, speak of how a key member of their field is gone too soon. There are still those that dislike him, glad that he’s gone and the true academics can succeed.

She finds little of herself, and she thanks Nic (and Katnip) for keeping her disappearance quiet and under the radar. The most she finds is a newspaper clipping and her disappearance. It's only a few sentences, and it exist in the classified section of her hometown paper. 

Satisfied with her searching, she closes up shop, buys a coffee on the way home and sips on it till the train pulls into the station. Sometimes, Strand will greet her. Loop her arm with his and they stop and have dinner on the way home. 

Some days, she stops and grabs dinner on her walk home and they enjoy a quiet dinner.

Alex doesn't know if she'd ever tell it to Strand’s face, but in the time she's known him, she's never seen him this calm or at ease. Maybe it's where they've settled. Maybe it's working with children. She isn't sure. 

She's just happy they choose this.


End file.
